The Fence
by Mistyeye
Summary: A hunting trip goes wrong and Daryl has to hope that there are still some good people out there. A oneshot inspired by that promo photo for season 5.


A/N Should be writing next chapter of Escape but felt the need to do this after seeing the latest picture released from season 5 last night. OMG - how do they expect us to wait until October! Set around season 3 part one. AU with no walkers.

Please review

Daryl Dixon thought it was amazing how quickly a good day could become a bad one. One second he was grinning at the deer he'd just bought down, thinking how much the group needed the fresh meat, the next he was face down in the dirt several strangers kicking the crap out of him. Now he was trussed up, a filthy rag stuffed in his mouth, his body protesting painfully at the position he'd been forced to stay in for at least the last 12 hours. He allowed his mind to drift back, anything to stop himself thinking how much his arms, back and neck burned in agony.

He'd left the prison at first light, heading into the forest at a brisk pace, knowing he would have to travel a fair distance before it was worth starting to track. The combination of several weeks of hunting and the walkers that were draw to the prison had pretty much cleared out all wildlife in the local area. He didn't mind the extra time in the forest, he enjoyed the solitude, the time away from the others. He was better with people than he had been when he first joined the group but still liked the peace and freedom of being alone in the coolness of the trees.

He walked for a couple of hours then picked up a set of fresh deer tracks. He hadn't seen a deer for a few weeks so he was determined to find it, they really needed a change from squirrel and snake meat. Silently he followed the tracks for about an hour, crossbow at the ready. Ahead he could see the sunlight was much brighter and realised he was approaching the edge of the trees. Cautiously he stepped out into a large field. There was a wooden fence in front of him, about four feet high, reinforced with metal struts and additional wooden posts. It stretched from one side of the field to the other then turned a corner and disappeared as far as he could see on both sides. Closer inspection told him it was relatively new and well maintained. Instinctively he retreated back into the trees. He didn't want to meet whoever had the manpower to build and maintain a barrier that size.

He followed the tracks around the edge of the trees and down the left hand side of the fence. He kept an eye on the field and if he squinted into the sun he thought he could see a cluster of buildings. He was so busy following the tracks that the little voice caused him to jump and spin round, automatically raising the crossbow.

"What you doing?"

He lowered the weapon when he saw the owner of the voice was a girl, no more than 9 years old. She was on the other side of the fence and had just stood from where she was collecting the mushrooms growing along the edge of the fence. He hadn't seen her until she stood. He stared at her blankly, taken by surprise at the sight of a child on her own.

"What you doin' out here all by yourself?" he growled, eyes searching for a sign of anyone else.

"My Mama lets me come here every day to pick these" she told him, holding up a basket filled with delicious looking mushrooms. She smiled when she saw him looking at them.

"You want some?" she held the basket towards him. He did but wasn't going to take food from a child and her mother.

"It aint safe to be here alone" he told her "What if a walker comes after you?"

She frowned at him

"What's a walker? Do you mean an undead?" she asked, giggling when he nodded.

"Walker's a good name for them. I'm gonna tell my Mama that's what I'm gonna call them now" she studied him in the way only a child can.

"My names Suzie" she told him "You wanna come and meet my mama? My Daddy died and she gets very sad sometimes. I think she would like you. You'd like her" she smiled at him innocently "She's real pretty"

He stepped back, running a hand through his long hair, not knowing how to reply. He wasn't used to kids and certainly not those trying to fix him up with their mother's.

He shook his head.

"Your mama sounds nice and I'm sorry she's sad but I can't come and meet her 'cos I already got people waiting for me" he finally told her.

She flashed him another grin "'Kay" she picked up her basket and gave him a wave.

"I gotta go or she'll get worried" she smiled again as she started to run towards the buildings in the distance. He watched her wanting to make sure she was safe, raising his hand to wave awkwardly when she turned and gave a final wave goodbye.

Shaking his head he continued to track the deer, making a mental note to tell Rick and the others about their neighbours.

He finally found the deer, grazing on the undergrowth and took it down with a single bolt through the eye. He was heading towards the body when all hell broke loose.

Two men stepped out in front of him, guns raised.

"What do you think you doing boy?" the older one asked, with a sneer. The younger one laughed.

"Claiming my kill" He took a step towards the deer, damned if he was going to give it up without a fight.

"I don't see your kill, just our deer" the man stepped closer to him, gun aimed at his chest.

"S'got my bolt in it makes it mine" he snarled, lunging forward and knocking the barrel of the gun away from him. "Don't point that damn thing at me"

The man laughed "Deer's on our land that makes it ours. Teach him a lesson boys" The man stepped away and Daryl realised too late that there were three more behind him. He fought well and fought hard but four against one was never a fight he could win. Finally the older man told them to stop and he was dragged to a truck parked nearby. He was thrown in the back, along with the deer carcass and three of the men. The kept him pinned face down in the truck bed so he couldn't see where he was being taken. Finally the truck stopped and he was dragged out and into a small room. His arms were pulled behind him and bound tightly with a rope. The rope was then pulled tight and his legs and ankles tied. He was left in a kneeling position, the rope behind him not quiet long enough, so his back was bent backwards at an unnatural angle. When he tried to sit back, his butt resting on his calves, they hit him with their gun butts until he was upright again. Even in this situation he couldn't stop his mouth running off and after an hour of threats and curses one of them had forced a filthy rag in his mouth, finally silencing him. Two men stayed with him at all times, making sure he didn't relax. When he'd almost keeled over in exhaustion they had thrown a bucket of cold water over him to wake him up. When his aching body could no longer support him and he had toppled over onto his side the men guarding him had kicked him in the gut a few times then hurled him back into position. He lost track of time and could only guess how long it had been before he heard the door open and a woman's voice.

"What the hell?!" The woman sounded angry. He heard footsteps and suddenly a woman was in his face. She pulled the gag from his mouth and held a bottle of water to his lips. He wanted to refuse it but was so damn thirsty he gulped it down.

"Who authorised this?" the woman demanded, as she took in the damage to his face. One eye was swollen and bruised and there was a deep cut above his other eyebrow. There were several other bruises and cuts visible.

The two men squirmed under her gaze.

"Jackson said he was a trouble maker and needed to be taught a lesson. He said we had to break him so we could find out where he was from and who he was with." One of them mumbled, not looking at her.

"We don't do that here" she snarled, glaring at them "Get the hell out of here. Tell Jackson I'll be speaking to him later." The two men ran from the room.

She pulled a knife from the sheath at her belt and moved behind him, using it to cut the rope linking his arms and legs. Instantly he bent forward, trying to stretch his back, biting his bottom lip as the feeling started to return to cramped muscles. She cut the rope binding his legs and ankles but left his hands tied. Once his legs were free he slumped sideways, sitting on the floor, cursing at the pain as the blood started to circulate his body properly again. She allowed him to lean against her for a few moments until she was sure he wouldn't fall over. She moved around in front of him, sitting cross legged on the floor.

He watched her silently, waiting to see where this was going. She appeared to be in her late thirties, maybe early forties, with shoulder length brunette hair and dark brown eyes. She was slim and attractive, but he could see a hardness in her face and knew she wouldn't take any crap. He realised she was wearing a uniform similar to what Rick had been wearing when they first met at the quarry.

"You a cop?" he croaked at her, still thirsty.

She studied him for a few seconds before nodding "Was, before all this happened" she held the water to his lips again, allowing him to drink his fill.

"I'm sorry you were treated like this. That's not what we do here. I'll be speaking to my man soon. I'll find out why he didn't even tell me you were here, why he thought this was the way to go"

"Your man's an asshole" he muttered. A ghost of a smile crossed her lips.

"That's as maybe" she agreed "But I do still need to know why you are here, where you're from and how many are in your group"

He clamped his mouth closed and looked away from her.

"Figured as much" she sighed, getting to her feet. "I'll go get my man's side of the story and be back later, maybe you should think about co-operating. We don't torture here, but I can't risk my people. I will need answers from you." She left the room and he heard a key turn in the lock.

He managed to get himself to the corner of the room, using the wall to support his aching body and somehow he managed to fall asleep. He awoke to the door opening; the woman was there, a plate in her hand, two men behind her.

"I'm going to free your hands from the rope, but I want you to put them in front of you and let me cuff them." She nodded to the two men "We can do it the easy way or…" The men stepped forward, flanking her slim form.

He pulled himself slowly to his feet and turned his back to her, allowing her to cut the ropes. He flexed his shoulders and rubbed the feeling back into his chafed wrists. The rough ropes had cut into them, leaving the skin raw and painful. Meeting her eyes he held his wrists out, allowing her to cuff him.

She nodded her thanks and sent the two men away. She pulled a chair into the middle of the room and told him to sit down. He refused on principal. With a sigh she glanced at the door.

"Don't give me all this macho bullshit" she told him "I get enough of that every day from my own men. Just sit the hell down before you fall over" She turned away and sat on the edge of the desk, waiting for him to decide. He turned the chair round and straddled it, arms hanging over the back as he smirked at her.

Shaking her head she handed him the plate she had bought in with her. There was a pile of meat and some vegetables on it. He was too hungry to refuse it so he bolted it down, using his fingers.

"This my deer?" he demanded

"That depends on whose story I believe" She told him "Jackson says he and his men took down the deer and you came over the fence and tried to take it from them by force. He says they had to beat you so much to subdue you. They treated you like they did because they were afraid you were part of a bigger group that might attack us." She watched his reaction. He swallowed his mouthful.

"Yer man's a damn liar" he told her "Weren't like that at all" She waited for him to finish his meal before pushing him for his side.

"Tracked the deer for miles before I even found yer damn fence. Stopped long enough to talk to the kid then found the deer a mile or so in the forest. Took it down with a bolt through the eye and then your men turned up, pulled guns on me and tried to take it. When I tried to take it they kicked the crap out of me and bought me back here"

"What kid did you talk to?" she asked.

He shrugged "Girl about 9 or 10, called Suzie, offered me some mushrooms and tried to fix me up with her Mama"

She laughed "That sounds like Suzie" She rose from the desk.

"I'm getting two sides here, I need to go take a look around, speak to a few people. I'll be back soon"

It wasn't long before she was back, a frown on her face.

"It seems you were telling the truth. I had a good look around, there's nothing to back up Jackson's story and everything to support yours. Suzie seems quite taken with you and still wants you to meet her mama. She said you seemed concerned for her out there on her own and watched her until she was back."

"Corse I did, aint safe for a kid to be wandering around on her own, even behind a fence."

"I need to decide what to do next, Jackson lied but he's been a good deputy for the last few years, you're a stranger but I don't see a threat yet. Tell me about your group; are you a threat to us?" she paced the room.

"My group aint a threat unless we feel threatened, then we fight to defend what's ours" he told her honestly "You gonna be a threat to us?"

She shook her head "We do alright here. We don't need to take from other survivors, in fact we take in other people."

He was about to reply when the door burst open and the older man who had captured him flew in. He guessed this was Jackson.

"You bitch" he snarled at the woman "You've been snooping round behind my back and now you believe this redneck asshole over me!" He took several angry paces towards her.

She stood her ground and said quietly "You lied Jackson, all the evidence points to it. Tell me why you lied, let me understand"

He faced her, moving closer.

"You've become a weak leader, you keep letting strangers in, more people to support and care for. We should be killing them and taking what they've got. This place needs a strong leader, one that puts our people's needs first. That's why I wanted to find out where his group is. We need their supplies" he was shouting now, clearing losing all control.

"We need to band together. There's safety in numbers now. We grow our own supplies, we're doing fine here. People feel safe and happy." She put a hand on his chest, trying to calm him down.

Jackson shook his head.

"No, it's not enough. They need a strong leader, someone like me." He pulled a knife from his waistband and grabbed her, shoving her back against the desk.

"Real tragic how you were questioning the prisoner when he turned on you and cut your throat. Shame I got there too late to save you but in time to kill him before he escaped" He shoved the knife against her throat but before he could cut into her a pair a handcuffs wrapped around his throat and he was pulled away from her. He clawed desperately at the cuffs slowly choking him.

Jackson meet her eyes, "please" he croaked "Help me, don't let him do this"

She stared at him coldly, then turned away.

"Guess I'm too weak to stop him" she commented.

Two armed men ran through the door guns raised when they saw Jackson's slumped body, still with the cuffs wrapped around his neck.

"Lower the guns" she yelled, putting herself between Daryl and the men. "Jackson went crazy he tried to kill me. This man saved my life" she told them. Hesitantly they lowered the guns.

Daryl lowered Jackson's still body to the floor, unhooking the cuffs from his neck. She turned to him and pulled the key to the cuffs from her pocket. Once he was free she turned to the men,

"Take his body to the morgue. We'll bury him later" she ordered "Make sure he can't come back"

The men picked up the body and dragged it away.

She turned to Daryl.

"Guess I owe you now" she smiled her thanks.

He shrugged his still sore shoulders,

"He was gonna come after me next, I just took him out first" he told her.

"You want to have a look round, see what we got going here" she asked him "We need to get you cleaned up, get those wrists looked at. I really am sorry about what happened to you."

Daryl shrugged again.

"Weren't your fault, you got it sorted. Guess you were an okay cop before the turn"

She laughed out loud

"I was a damn good cop. Could spot a bad guy a mile off, that's why I knew you were telling the truth. Screwed up a bit with Jackson though, I didn't see that one coming."

They were walking through the small complex of buildings. The living quarters were clean and fresh and there were gardens everywhere, growing fresh fruit and vegetables. The people were happy and friendly, greeting them wherever they went. The more he saw the more he thought it would be a good place to live.

"You still taking people in?" he asked slowly.

She nodded

"How many you got?" she asked

"No more than 10, including a new born."

"A baby!" she couldn't believe that.

"Yeah and a couple of teens. The rest are adults, able to earn their keep. One's a vet, but he does a damn good job on people too"

"Never gonna turn down someone with medical experience" she thought for a second.

"You take me back to your place, let me meet your people, then maybe they can come here see what they think. It sounds like they would fit in real well"

They had reached the building where the medical supplies were kept and she started to clean up his damaged wrists, wrapping a light gauze bandage round them. She let go of his wrists and stepped back, meeting his eyes.

"Be good to have some new faces round here" she lead him outside again, aware he was watching her.

"You ready to go back to your people?" she asked as they reached an area with several cars and trucks parked in it.

"I guess so" he seemed reluctant.

"Even if they don't want to come back, you'll always be welcome here. I'm sure Suzie will be pleased to see you" she smiled at him.

"As long as she don't keep tryin' to fix me up with her damn mama" he complained.

She looked him straight in the eyes "Maybe her mama would like it" He felt his face go hot as he turned away from her.

"Speak of the devil" she smiled as Suzie raced up to them

"Hey" she cried "You met my Mama, I told you she was real pretty didn't I"

**End**

**Sorry not the best ending. Wasn't sure where to go with this, just felt the need to write it. Please let me know what you think.**

**xxxxx**


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